Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 417 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $433,709,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE AXP opened at $276.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $194.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.34. American Express has a 52 week low of $151.51 and a 52 week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.